Sigma Planning Corp Buys 5,917 Shares of Astrazeneca Plc $AZN

Sigma Planning Corp grew its holdings in shares of Astrazeneca Plc (NYSE:AZN) by 128.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,520 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,917 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Astrazeneca were worth $967,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Astrazeneca during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Astrazeneca in the 4th quarter worth about $218,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 259,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,820,000 after purchasing an additional 16,922 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 11,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,020,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in Astrazeneca by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 22,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,030,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.35% of the company’s stock.

Astrazeneca Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AZN opened at $183.27 on Tuesday. Astrazeneca Plc has a fifty-two week low of $132.32 and a fifty-two week high of $212.71. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $196.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $284.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.26.

Astrazeneca (NYSE:AZN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.06. Astrazeneca had a return on equity of 30.86% and a net margin of 17.19%.The business had revenue of $15.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.93 billion. On average, analysts expect that Astrazeneca Plc will post 10.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Astrazeneca Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th were given a $1.595 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. This represents a yield of 156.0%. Astrazeneca’s payout ratio is 73.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AZN shares. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings started coverage on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy (b)” rating on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of Astrazeneca from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Astrazeneca in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Astrazeneca presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.33.

Astrazeneca Profile

AstraZeneca plc is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, England. Formed through the 1999 merger of Sweden’s Astra AB and the UK’s Zeneca Group, the company researches, develops, manufactures and commercializes prescription medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. AstraZeneca positions itself as R&D-driven, investing in discovery science, clinical development and regulatory processes to bring new therapies to market.

The company’s commercial portfolio and late-stage pipeline emphasize oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic (CVRM) diseases, and respiratory and immunology.